CBD Oil while breastfeeding

Does anyone know if it is safe to use CBD oil while breastfeeding? Even if it is, I probably wouldn't use it but I am curious. I am suffering from anxiety and I am hesitant to go to the doctor because his first reaction in the past was to start me on antidepressants right away. I hate those medications. It's a nightmare taking them and switching them til I find something that works but has side effects. I just refuse to do that again and I will not take any pharmaceuticals while I am breastfeeding, period. Reading about "natural" remedies for anxiety online has me curious about the use of CBD oil while nursing a baby. I am currently trying meditation and aromatherapy to help but it only helps temporarily.

Re: CBD Oil while breastfeeding

Hi babymm. Have you personally found CBD oil effective for your anxiety before? Or would this be the first time you try it?

My understanding is that the effectiveness of CBD oil use varies tremendously person to person. I think there are several possible issues to consider when using any cannabis based product (see article below) - and so personally, knowing whether or not the product actually helped me, and helped more than things that are unquestioningly safe when nursing and can be effective for mood disorders (what you are already trying, plus cognitive behavioral therapy, exercise, sun exposure, getting more sleep, lifestyle changes that might reduce stress, eating habits, etc.) would be important for me to know before I pursued its use when breastfeeding.

That said, I would not suggest leaving any more severe post partum mood disorder untreated and I think it might be important to consult a doctor even if you are not willing to take pharmaceutical treatment.

It can be very hard to find accurate information on the relative safety of using alternative meds/herbs when it comes to breastfeeding. In general you will find more accurate info about the relative safety of most pharmaceutical anti- anxiety medications- even though those are not officially studied in nursing mothers, there is accurate evidence gathering when nursing mothers do take such meds, as they very commonly do, so safety ratings have been made that are widely accepted. Nursing a child need not be a reason a mother does not take medications she needs. For more info on that (and possibly on CBD oil) you can call the folks at infantrisk http://www.infantrisk.com/ The founder Dr. Hale has been studying and rating the safety of medications for lactating mothers for decades.

If your doctor's only reaction is to prescribe medication you do not want to take, can you ask for a second opinion, or a referral to a psychologist?

Re: CBD Oil while breastfeeding

While there seems to be some evidence that CBD could be useful in treating anxiety, the research is very preliminary, and there's a lot that isn't known about safety, effectiveness, appropriate dosage, etc. There is NO information on its use during breastfeeding, whether it transfers into breastmilk and at what concentration, and what potential effects it could have on a breastfeeding baby. In fact, according to this article from the American Chemical Society, CBD binds so closely with fat that, so far, it hasn't even been possible to measure its amounts in breastmilk.

One other thing to keep in mind is that while many herbs and natural remedies do have pharmacological properties, if they're marketed as dietary supplements, they're often not well-regulated for quality and safety. When the FDA tested a number of CBD products in 2016, they found that most did not contain the amount of CBD claimed on the label. And it looks like a lot of them contained some amount of other cannabinoids, including THC.